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Israel and the Palestinians put a positive gloss Friday on talks between their prime ministers, setting the tone for a three-way summit led by President Bush on promoting a peace "road map."
Israel announced a series of goodwill gestures toward the Palestinians, including plans to release some prisoners, but failed to agree on terms for an Israeli troop pullback in the West Bank and Gaza Strip envisioned in the US-backed plan.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas later told Israeli television in an interview the Palestinian Authority's security forces would be ready to assume control in "two to three weeks" over Gaza Strip and West Bank areas.
At the Thursday night meeting with Abbas, Sharon offered to withdraw forces from northern Gaza and West Bank cities and turn the areas into a testing ground for a Palestinian crackdown on militants that could lead to more pullbacks.
But it was unclear whether Israel would agree to a withdrawal if Abbas brokered a cease-fire with Islamic militants rather than disarmed them and destroyed the "terror infrastructure," as Israel and the United States have demanded.
Palestinians fear a crackdown could spark a civil war. They also say their security forces have been weakened by Israeli army sweeps during a 32-month-old uprising for a state.
A statement from Sharon's office said the Jerusalem meeting with Abbas was held in a "positive and very good atmosphere."
Abbas described the talks as "serious, candid and beneficial," his press secretary said.
But there appeared to be little chance of putting the peace proposal into motion before Bush meets the two leaders in a June 4 summit in Jordan, showcasing his decision to take a more hands-on approach to Middle East peacemaking after the Iraq war.
Bush Heads for Europe, Middle East
Bush left Washington Friday for Europe, where he will attend a Group of Eight summit in Evian, France, before engaging in Middle East diplomacy with Arab leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and with Sharon and Abbas in Aqaba, Jordan.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said "all signals are a go" for the trilateral summit.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said an all-American team of experts was being assembled to monitor the implementation of the "roadmap."
"It will be giving us a 24/7 presence helping both sides," Powell told reporters as he flew to Europe aboard Air Force One.
Abbas told Channel One he hoped to seal a deal with Islamic militants to cease bombings and other attacks against Israelis before next week's summit in Aqaba.
"We in Hamas are still discussing this issue and we are in need of more time to evaluate the developments on the ground in order to take the right decisions," Abdel-Aziz Rantissi, a top Hamas official, told Reuters.
Dore Gold, an adviser to Sharon said the key question for Israel was, "will the Palestinians disarm and dismantle the terrorist organizations that have been killing Israeli civilians over the last two-and-a-half years?"
The specter of possible attacks by militants aimed at derailing the latest peace effort rose as the United States warned its citizens in Israel to avoid public buses and crowded venues that have in the past been targeted by suicide bombers.
The advisory posted on the US embassy Web site in Tel Aviv also warned of "credible" reports of possible plans to kidnap US citizens in the Gaza Strip.
(China Daily May 31, 2003)
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